


The End of an Era

by kayla49



Series: Marvel Avengers Series [3]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, F/M, Infinity War (Marvel Comics), Minor Original Character(s), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:14:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29123250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayla49/pseuds/kayla49
Summary: They always said keep your friends close and your enemies closer but what happens when friends become enemies and enemies become friends and lovers? What happens when what was supposed to be a team of skilled and ambitious people start to be pulled like cotton candy from within?How can the world be saved if the people who are saving it, are fighting each other?
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Reader, James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader
Series: Marvel Avengers Series [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2081745
Kudos: 4





	1. Prologue

The world is different now. All new games with all new players with all new rules, but some of these players; let's just say it's gonna be a fun game.


	2. The Longing

Running a finger on the desk near my hip as I walked into the room, my ears picked up on the running shower in the other room. Moving more into the room, I eyed the single couch in the room and the bed in the corner before they settled on the many notebooks surrounding the place. 

Reaching out to grab one, I just randomly flipped to a page and started to skim down the page.

_I just remember just sitting there. In that....chair. That god given chair. A guard was standing in front of me as more surrounded me, guns ready just incase. "Красного isn't yours. She belongs to Mother."_

_I scuffed; they think she belongs to her. No. Belongs to me. "You think she belongs to anyone? Then you're as foolish as the others."_

_His face scrunched up in anger before turning to the tech that was by my arm. "Wipe him, start over."_

The book was ripped out of my hands and across the room before I was being turned and shoved against a wall. Feeling his hands on my arms, his chest pushed against mine. His breath hitting my face as my bangs moved from it. Finally glancing up, his icy blue shone like diamonds.

I went to speak before lips were upon mine, quite harshly. His hands gripped my upper arms tightly before I managed to shrug them off, thrusting my hands up and into his hair. It was wet from him just coming out of the shower. Tugging on it slightly, he let out a groan.

Feeling his hands sliding up, I felt one of his fingers touch the healed bullet hole near my collarbone, causing me to shiver. His finger went south, grabbing the zipper to my jacket. Pulling it down, he shoved open the flabs before ripping the jacket down my arms. He threw the jacket somewhere behind him as he started to kiss down my throat. 

A buzz came from my back pocket and I went to reach for it when I found my wrist pinned to the wall as he grazed his lips over another healed bullet wound on my chest. Sneaking the phone out of my pocket, I read the message as he moved back up my neck before pausing. "Don't go."

"I have to. I'll come back. I promise.


	3. The Payload

Using her teeth to tear open a sugar packet, I watched Wanda pour it into her tea from across the table. She glanced at me as she did, watching me as I took a sip of my own tea. Picking up her cup, she glanced behind her as my eyes flickered around us. 

"Alright, what do you see?" Steve asked through the comms. She turned her head back towards me, me still watching her for an answer.

"Standard beat cops. Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target." She answered, waiting for me to confirm. I nodded, giving her a small smile.

"There's an ATM on the south corner, which means?" Steve continued to ask.

"Cameras." She answered, scratching the top of her lip, one of her nervous ticks that I picked up on real early in her training. 

"Both cross streets are one-way." Steve told her. She glanced at me again as I put my cup down, reaching up with one hand to pull my hat closer to my face.

"So, compromised escape routes." She replied back. 

"Means our guy doesn't care about being seen. He isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out. You see that Range Rover halfway up the block?" Steve asked from the building next to us. 

"Yeah, the red one? It's cute." She complimented, smiling.

"It's also bulletproof." I whispered as I heard Nat echo the same through the comm. 

"Which means private security...which means more guns...which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us." Nat continued, her head flickering over to our table from hers. 

"You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?" She gave us the little reminder. I smirked as I grabbed my cup again.

"You shouldn't depend on it. Looking over your shoulder should be like second nature; you never know what could happen." I explained to her, her eyes flickering over to me. 

"Anyone ever tell you two that you're a little paranoid?" Sam asked from his position up on a roof near us.

"Not to my face. Why? Did you hear something?" Nat jokes and I snickered slightly as I took another sip of the tea.

"Eyes on target, folks. This is the best lead we've had on Rumlow in six months. I don't want to lose him. " Steve ordered, refocusing us.

Sam scoffs at him. "If he sees us coming, that won't be a problem. He kind of hates us."

Yeah, causing we dropped a building on him. Hearing the chatter around us get louder as a car horn blared a few times had me glancing over to the other side of the street where it came from.

"Sam.. see that garbage truck? Tag it." Steve said. Oh, Redwing gets to come out to play today.

"That truck's loaded for max weight. And the driver's armed." Sam replied.

"It's a battering ram." Nat stated.

"Go now." Steve ordered. 

"What?" Wanda glanced at me, confused as Steve answered.

Grabbing her hand, I pulled her up as I answered. "He's not hitting the police."

Running towards the building, I glanced at Wanda as she ran beside me. Gunshots rang out as I heard them bounce off the vibranium shield. "Body armor, AR-15s. I make seven hostiles."

"I make five." Sam said. And just like we practiced, Wanda pulled me up and into the air with the red wisps. I landed as she did, the landing still a little shaky but okay. She blocked the gunfire with a shield of her own before she forced the man still.

"Sam." I said as she held him. She twisted and sent the man into the air as Sam slammed him into the ground. "Four."

Hearing Redwing overhead, I glanced up as it scanned the building. "Rumlow's on the third floor."

"Wanda," She whipped around to Steve as he walked towards us. "Just like you and Grace practiced."

"What about the gas?" She asked as he glanced up at the building at her question.

"Get it out." I answered for him as he jumped up on a car and she pushed him into the building. He broke through the window as I turned to her. "You got this, get it out."

She nodded, turning back to the building. Moving her hands up, she let out the red wisps as they flowed to the building. The windows broke on the main floor as Sam watched our backs, her keeping her shield up behind us as bullets hit it. Hearing two loud explosions behind us, I glanced back at Sam before going back to Wanda as she asked a question, "Up?"

"Yes, go smoothly. Make sure you spread it out." She nodded before doing what she was told. Me watching as the gas circled up.

"Rumlow has a biological weapon." Steve reported through the comm.

"I'm on it." Nat responded. Wanda's head snapped over to me as she continued to hold the gas. I nodded for her to let it go and she did.

"Sam, he's in an AFV heading north." Steve grunted out from somewhere. Sam turned to us before jetting off. 

Running to a fallen bike, I yanked it up before urging her on. She shook her head. "Get on, now."

She reluctantly got on and I sped away, glancing down at the pad on my arm. A red spot glowed, giving me the exact location of Steve. It was easier than trying to locate him when he's on a rampage.

"They ditched their gear. It's a shell game now. One of them has the payload." Steve said before I heard an explosion both in the air and through his comm. Speeding up the bike, Wanda's arms tightened as I weaved through the crowd.

"He doesn't have it. I'm empty." Sam reported.

Jerking to a stop, I jumped off after Wanda as Steve kicked Rumlow away. Urging Wanda to stay where she was, I watched as he pulled off his helmet, his eyes landing on me. "Red."

Feeling Wanda's hand touch my back, I held out my arm as Steve came strut up to him, jerking him around by his vest. I moved around to the left so I could have eyes on Rumlow as he noticed me doing it behind Steve. "I think I look pretty good, all things considered."

"Who's your buyer?" Steve demanded.

"You know, he knew you." Rumlow huffed out. "Your pal, your buddy, your Bucky."

"Steve..." I trailed off as he jerked Rumlow closer, cutting off some of my sight of him.

"What did you say?" Steve hissed.

"He remembered you, her. I was there. He got all weepy about it. Till they put his head back in a blender. He wanted you to know something. He said to me, "Please tell Rogers. When you gotta go...you gotta go." , and you're coming with me."

"Steve!" I saw the detonator as Rumlow pressed down on the button. The bomb started to explode before a red shield wrapped around it and Rumlow. Jerking around to Wanda, she grunted as she tried her best to hold it. She quickly threw him up into the air before she lost control of it, causing the bomb to finish exploding. 

The glass and rubble of the building rained down as fire started to fill the rooms. Wanda gasped in horror, my ears picking up the screams of the people inside the building. 

"Sam...we need...Fire and Rescue on the south side of the building. We gotta get up there." Steve ordered. Out of the corner of my eye, Wanda fell to her knees as her eyes started to water. Pulling her to me, I held her as she started to cry into my stomach.

"I tried..." She mumbled out. "I couldn't hold..."

I shushed her before pulling her away to look at her. Tears streamed down her face as I wiped them away.

"It doesn't matter now. What matters is how many you save."


	4. The Responsility

Flipping through the book, I heard the news playing from the television in front of me. "Eleven Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lago, Nigeria last month. The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission in Lagos when the attack occurred."

Turning away from the screen, I saw Steve standing in the doorway of my room, watching the tv as well. Quickly hiding the book under the blanket covering my legs, he finally turned his head towards me.

"What are we gonna do about Wanda?" He asked, leaning fully against the door frame. 

"What do you mean, "do about Wanda?"," I repeated, crossing my arms over my chest. "Yes, she killed innocent people, so have we but she saved more; even though that doesn't excuse losing control."

"I didn't mean it like that. She blames herself." He corrected.

"She shouldn't. We both should have noticed that bomb before she did. Rumlow knew the exact thread to pull and he pulled it, diverting our attention but not Wanda's. I know being out for months didn't help with training..." I trailed off, brushing along the faint scar that ran down my chest. 

He moved away from the door and into the room. "Grae, you died that day. You worked harder than anyone to get back into the field, sooner than advised. No one blames you for being a little rusty, you only been back for two months."

"Wanda is my responsibility." I quickly shot off.

"Lago was your third mission back-,"

"That doesn't excuse it. We both are part of the blame, we both are a part of why twenty-six people innocent people are dead. You can't excuse it, not this time." I paused, running a hand through my hair. "Can you just..."

"Yeah." He patted my knee before getting up. He walked towards the door before stopping. "Wanda may be your responsibility but you're mine, remember that."

He shut the door as he walked out. Waiting a few moments for him to retreat, I pulled out the boom from underneath the blanket. The red star on the black book still haunted my nightmares. Rubbing my fingers along the edges of the pages, I closed my eyes, hearing the screams coming from the book. Not just of the victims but mine also. Hearing movement behind me, I jerked around.

"Vis," I acknowledged as I saw him. "Wanda and I talked about this." I reminded him as he decided to walk through the walls instead of the door.

"Ahh, I forgot." He looked down at his feet, in shame at the reminder. "Mr. Stark has arrived, and he's brought a guest."

My eyebrows shot up. "Who, if I may ask?"

"The Secretary of State." He answered. Fucking shit.

Moving my chair from side to side, Wanda and Steve came into the room. Wanda down by Vision as Steve sat down next to me. Secretary Ross was at the head of the table, watching all of us from his stance by the black screen.

"Five years ago...I had a heart attack...and dropped right in the middle of my backswing. Turned out it was the best round of my life because after thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass...I found something forty years in the Army had never taught me. Perspective." He paused, his eyes wandering around to all of us. This should be great, knowing how he is.

"The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives but while a great many people see you as heroes...there are some...who would prefer the word 'vigilantes'."

"What word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" I asked, playing with the rings on my fingers. I knew he didn't like me. He wanted to know all my secrets, all my past, and that was a no go so the feelings for him were mutual.

"How about 'dangerous'? What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?" He said, moving out of the way of the screen. A map of the world was pulled up with yellow dots on certain places.

"New York." Videos, he was showing videos to prove a point but all I saw was the number, seventy-four. The screams of people caused me to flinched as D.C. came up, twenty-three dead. Sokovia, hundred and seventy-seven. "Lagos."

Seeing Wanda turning away from the screen, Steve finally spoke up. "Okay, that's enough."

"For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution." Ross was handed a packet before sliding it over to Wanda. "The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries, it states that Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of United Nations panel only when and if that panel deems it necessary."

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that." Steve intersected. Ross stopped by him, turning to face Steve and I.

"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now? If I misplaced a couple of thirty megaton nukes, you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground." Ross responded.

"So, there are contingencies." Rhody said.

"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords. Talk it over." Ross told us.

"And if we come to a decision you don't like, Ross?" I asked, spinning in my chair to face him as he started to walk out of the room.

"Then you retire. Maybe the world will be safer without you avenging it, Ms. Donovan, knowing your supposed history."


	5. The Friend

Not having the chance to scan through the packet before leaving, I made my way around to my quiet place. Walking in, I stopped at the front desk. "How she doing today?"

The nurse looked up before she glanced down. "Not good. She's not doing good, Ms. Grace." My eyes widening, I pushed my way away from the desk and down the hall into her room. She was lying there, her shallow breathing caught my attention.

She didn't look like herself, she wasn't like this the last time I came to see her. Her color wasn't as vibrant as it was last week. Her hands were swollen, already turned a bluish-purple as I grasped them. They were cold, not like her usual warm self.

"Hi, Pegs." I whispered and her eyelashes twitched but other than that and her chest slowly moving up and down, she didn't move. Pulling the extra copy of the Sokovia Accords out of my bag, I started to read through it. Most of it was bullshit but it's the government. You can either bend to their will or face the consequences. 

After a while, my ears caught the difference in her breathing. Glancing up, a tear slipped down my cheek, knowing what it meant. I reached up with my left hand and smoothed it down her cheek. "It's okay....to leave. You've had a good life and I don't want you to suffer even though I want you to stay. You're my best friend, Peg. You will always be my best friend but I gotta let you go so you can be free. Where there isn't any pain."

Getting up, I slid onto the bed next to her and laid my head on hers, just holding her. I held her as she slipped away. Into a peaceful enteral sleep. Where there is no pain, no suffering, and lots of love. Hearing the door open, my eyes slowly opened as a nurse walked in before she paused. 

"She's gone." I mumbled out, tears slipping down my cheeks. My tears wetting her hair.

The nurse nodded. "Do you need another minute, Ms. Grace?"

I shook my head and I slowly detached myself from her. Leaning down, I kissed her forehead and sniffed, pressing my forehead against hers. "I love you, Pegs. Never forget that."

Grabbing my things, I wiped away my tears and held it together as I walked through the building. Once in the car, I leaned my head against the steering wheel and let out a sob. My body shook as I leaned back, reaching for my phone. Clicking Steve's name, I quickly typed away. 

_"She's gone. In her sleep. Be gone for a few days."_

_"Where?"_


	6. The Take Out

The sounds of his breathing had me slowly coming too. His arm shifting around my bare waist, the weight of comforting. My eyes slowly opened, letting out a slow breath before tuning to face him. Reaching up with one hand, I smoothed a finger over his forehead, moving back a piece of his hair. 

Gently pulling away, I gently removed myself from him. His face scrunched up before he rolled over to huddle in the spot I just removed myself from. He hugged my pillow to him before settling. I walked to the bathroom and flipped on the shower.

Shutting the burtain, I stepped underneath the water and let it smooth over me. My hair acted like a curtain as my head sagged, my eyes taking in the scars on my chest. Touching one, then the next, I barely remembered how they felt going in but how they felt coming out the back, different story.

A hand smoothing down my back ahd my head snapping up. I knew who it was but the way he was so quiet still got me sometimes. Guess I know how Sam feels when I do the same to him from time to time. Feeling him lean forward, an arm wrapped around my waist before his face was in the curve of my neck. "Plums."

"Wash first." I replied back. Him nodding had be turning around to face him. He glanced down and started to run a finger down the long scar on my chest as he studied it as I studied the one on his left shoulder. Reaching up to feel along his, his hand snapped up, snatching my wrist before I could. He gave me a look before gently releasing my wrist, speaking as he did so.

"No."

Watching him decide on which plums he wanted was fascinating. He picked up one with his metal hand before giving it a light press before placing it back down. He spoke to the lady in front of him before handing her the plums that he wanted. He gave her a smile before he got my eye. He turned back to the lady as she handed him the bag before he grabbed my hand, leading me away. 

We paused at the street and I saw a man staring at us from across it. The hand in my tightened as more cars passed as he let out a small sigh. We started to cross the street and a man in one of the booths rushed out before sprinting away. Confused at the man reaction, I let go of his hand and walked forward. Grabbing the paper that the man was just reading, "Shit."

"I didn't..." His voice reached my ear before I turned to him.

"I know but that won't matter to them. We gotta go."

Speeding up the stairs behind him, he quietly entered the room with me following. And that's when I noticed a figure in the kitchen.

"Understood." Steve said before he must have felt our eyes on him 'cause he jerked around. His eyes met mine, confusion filled them before they moved to land to where Bucky's hand was grasped around my wrist, keeping me mostly behind him. Then they moved to fully look at Bucky. "Do you know me?"

"You're Steve. I read about you in a museum." Bucky's voice came out rough, his hand tightening around my wrist. 

"I know you're nervous and you have plenty of reason to be but you're lying." Steve said, his head nodding to me. His eyes flickering back down to Bucky's hand around my wrist.

"I wasn't in Vienna. I don't do that anymore." Bucky stated. Steve glanced at me and I shook my head. He didn't do it, how could he when he was with me the whole time?

"Well, the people who think you did are coming here now. And they're not planning on taking you alive. Either of you." He whispered the last part but I heard it. 

"That's smart. Good strategy." Bucky mumbled out as I heard footsteps approaching. Bucky's hand loosened around my wrist, his head cocking back to glance at me.

"This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck." Steve said as Bucky moved away from me, towards the table in the room.

He sighed, glancing down. "It always ends in a fight."

I moved away from the door, knowing they were gonna break it down at any moment as Steve spoke. "You pulled me from the river. Why?"

Bucky removed his glove from his metal hand as he sighed again. "I don't know."

"Yes, you do or she wouldn't be here." Steve stated before something broke through the window near him. Steve knocked it away as another grenade broke through the window next to me. 

The grenade landed by my foot and I kicked it, Steve placing his shield over it as it exploded. Bucky moved over to me, lifting up the mattress as a shot went through the window. The door thumped before Bucky threw the table at the door, blocking it. 

Grasping my arm, he jerked me to him as two men broke through the windows; him punching the one closest to him. Bullets whizzed past me as Bucky flung the man across the room. Steve grabbed the other man's gun and I kicked him in the stomach and back out the side door. 

"Buck, stop!" Steve ordered, grabbing onto Bucky's hood. He flipped under Steve's arm as he faced him. "You're gonna kill someone."

He shoved Steve to the ground before punching the floor by his head. "I'm not gonna kill anyone."

He ripped out the bag that I had placed in there almost a month ago before he threw it out the side door and onto the building next to us. Another man jumped into the room, shooting directly at me. Bucky shoved me towards him and blocked the bullets with his metal arm before Steve got up and blocked the both of us. Then Steve was flying out the window, knocking into a man out there.

Bucky guarded me as we walked towards the man in the room as he still fired at us, hitting the metal hand that Bucky was holding up. Once he got close enough, he grabbed the man's head and slammed it down onto the shelves to our left.

Another got up and I kicked him away as Bucky grabbed a cinder block and hitting him with it, the block breaking apart. Shots broke through the door and Bucky punched through the wall, hitting one. He shoved through the door, punching one in the throat. I punched another before kicking him down the steps and he flipped the one in his hands.

Glass broke before bullets whizzed past us again, Bucky guarding with his metal arm. I reached up and grabbed onto the gun, swinging him into the wall. He grabbed the battering ram and hit the man in front of him as one came up the stairs towards me. He smashed the ram into the man's leg, flipping him. 

Bucky jumped onto the unconscious man who was hanging on a line, going down two flights of stairs, taking all the attention so I could come down. Throwing a man across the floor, I punched one in the back of the neck before Bucky grabbed him and threw him also.

Hands grabbed my arms from behind me and shoved me into a wall before they disappeared with the sound of glass breaking. Steve appeared beside me as he caught the man who was about to fall down the center of the stairwell.

"Come on, man." Steve complained before Bucky elbowed a man in the face. He ducked under Steve, grabbing my wrist as he went. He broke the railing and swung me down the next level before following. I landed on the ground, hitting one of the men as he kicked another through a door.

Shoving a man away from me, a gun cocked before a shield stuck itself in the wall by my head. Bucky and I glanced up at Steve before Bucky threw me on his back and jumped over the railing. I held on as we flew past the men running up the stairs before he grabbed onto another railing, letting out a yell.

He climbed over the damaged railing before kicking down a door. He reached up and smoothed over my hand, silently telling me not to let go. I tightened all my limbs as he started to sprint before jumping.

I let go as we both hit the next building, rolling a little before we both stood. Him picking up the bag he threw before a shadow raised over him. Bucky was knocked won as the man who hit him stood.

The Black Panther stood before us. Also known as T'Challa.

Bucky nodded at me before they started to fight. I grabbed the bag that had fallen out of his hands before running towards the ledge. I jumped over the ledge as I heard a helicopter coming near us. Lightly landing on my toes on another ledge, I jumped down to the ground before metal slicing through metal.

Knowing Bucky was following with our lovely guest, I kept running. Bullets hitting the ground in front of me had me jumping down into an underground freeway. Bucky landed just a few seconds after as we both avoided being hit by cars. Him grabbing onto the strap of the bag, he pulled me along as we ran in the same directions the car were going in.

Sirens wailed behind us as I glanced back, seeing both T'Challa and Steve following behind us. Jumping up and onto a car, I sped up as Bucky ran beside me. Seeing blue lights ahead of us, we jumped over some barrels before I heard a reving of an engine.

Bucky reached out, knocking the man off the bike before he hopped on, with me behind him. He quickly sped as I hung on, glancing behind us to see that Steve was still following with T'Challa on the back of a car.

Hearing the thump of feet on a car, I glanced back before ducking under Bucky's arm as he grabbed T'Challa by the throat. He kicked off the wall and flipped over us, almost taking us down. With Bucky's arm scraping against the road, I managed to knock him off before Bucky corrected us. He threw a grenade up onto the wall as we drove under it, it exploding a second later.

Then the bike was out from under us, my body slamming down onto the ground. I rolled against the road a little ways before I stopped. Glancing up, I saw T'Challa leaning over Bucky as Steve sidelined him away. Getting up, Bucky pulled me towards him as more cars with blue lights came into the tunnel. 

Steve held out an arm towards us, probably making sure we don't run and to make sure that T'Challa couldn't attack again. The cuts on the side of my face burned from the gravel as Rhodey landed on the ground, pointing an Iron hand towards us.

"Stand down, now." Rhodey ordered. Bucky's hand tightened around my wrist as Steve put his shield on his back. "Congratulations, Cap. Grace. You're a criminal."

With Bucky refusing to let go of my wrist, the police forced us down to the ground together. They ripped his hand off as they started to cuff me. Bucky started to struggle slightly before he was able to look at me, me shaking my head at him.

Don't fight it, Bucky.


	7. The Race for The Chopper

Bucky watched me as I watched him. My hands flecked as the metal around my arm bit into them. The guards next to me tightened their hands on their guns as I did so. The metal around my waist felt unnatural, probably more of a safeguard for them than to me.

Not liking the feeling of this box, they had decided to put me in as they did Bucky, I kept twitching which caused the guards to be more anxious. Unsettled when I did so. Bucky's eyes met mine and I flicked up an eyebrow at him.

"Stop." A guard ordered, hitting the glass with his gun. Moving so my scratched up face faced him, I barely acknowledged him before turning back to Bucky. Not like we had a secret language, that they know of. 

Metal bounds were also placed over his wrists with more following up his metal arm, one also around his waist and probably at his feet as well. Guessing if they did for me, they do for him.

I shifted again as my back itched as they unloaded me from the truck before doing the same for Bucky. Glancing over, I saw Steve stepping out of a van, catching the sight of us. His face gave away to what he was feeling before he turned away to talk to Everett Ross before they started to walk. Steve glanced back at me again before I turned away from him, my eyes shifting to Bucky.

Two guards opened the door to my box before placing magnetic cuffs around my wrists before they lifted the metal guards from my body as they led Bucky away. They grabbed my upper arms and pulled me out, leading me to a room. They attached my cuffs to the table, the magnetic cuffs yanking on my skin. They brought in another chair before leaving me to my own thoughts.

Messing with the rings on my fingers for a while, waiting for whoever was going to come. I mean they wouldn't just put an extra chair in here for my own pleasure. Leaning back, I managed to move the cuffs closer to the edge of the table. My eyebrows shot up at the little fact before I placed my feet up on the chair in front of me.

First mistake, probably taking me out of that box.

Second, even though it's magnetic, it can still move.

Third, leaving me alone with my thoughts to plan.

The door opened and a man walked through holding what looked like a book before they shut the doors. The man glanced at me, his eyes flickering over the cuts around my eye and cheek, seeming a little nervous. Odd. "Hell, Ms. Donovan. I've been sent by the United Nations to evaluate you. Do you mind if I sit?"

His eyes flickered to the chair that my feet rested upon as mine flickered to the camera behind him, the one recording us. Probably a live feed, possibly. My eyes moved back to the man as I moved my feet for him to sit.

"Your first name is Gracie Marie." He said my full name as he sat.

"Grace." I corrected him to which he nodded.

"I'm not here to judge you. I just want to ask you a few questions, is that okay, Grace?" He asked me. I shrugged, not really having a choice in the matter. "Okay, do you know where you are? Один."

That last word had my head snapping up from my fingers. "What?"

"Do you know where you are? Отказался." My eye twitched as he said a different word than before.

"Yes, I know where I am." I answered, a little confused by his questioning.

"Good, good. Ребенок. What year were you born? Девять." Russian, he was speaking Russian, why?

"1921." I answered him, moving my rings around.

He nodded before speaking again. "Pассветы, приход. That’s good. You’re doing well, Ms. Grace. Два." Stop, stop. My mind went blank slightly.

"Stop." 

"Stop what, Ms. Grace? Подчиненный. Stop the questions?" He asked, acting like he isn't doing a thing. 

"I know what you're doing. Why?" I hissed, leaning forward. My brain was getting foggy and I didn't like it. 

“What am I doing? Один. Развязка. Red?” I could feel myself retreating to the back of my head. Who I am, everything that I am, was suddenly gone and I felt nothing. It was like I had become a shell of myself.

"Yes?" I spoke. My voice came out monotoned. It wasn't mine.

"Let's go get your soldier."

Breaking out of those cuffs were easy. A simple electric disk deactivated the sensor and the cuffs released. I walked behind the man as he paused at the door, turning to me. "Stay in the corner, out of sight of the camera. Can't be giving away my surprise just quite yet."

I acknowledged him with a single nod before he moved into the room. "Hello, Mr. Barnes. I've been sent by the United Nations to evaluate you. Do you mind if I sit?"

Soldat glanced from the man to me as I shut the door, going to stand in the corner away from the camera like I was ordered. Soldat frowned, looking, what do you call it, confused? I placed my hands behind my back as I watched the two as the Soldat watched me from his box.

"Your first name is James?" The man asked which the Soldat didn't respond. "I'm not here to judge you. I just want to ask you a few questions. Do you know where you are, James? I can't help you if you don't talk to me, James."

"My name is Bucky." Soldat answered.

"Tell me, Bucky. You've seen a great deal, haven't you?" The man asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." Soldat answered. His eyes flickering over to me as I stared at him. 

"You fear that if you open your mouth, the horrors might never stop. Don't worry. We have to talk about one." Suddenly the lights went off around the room as red lights flashed.

"What the hell is this?" Soldat asked, glancing around then back at the man.

"Why don't we discuss your home? Not Romania. Certainly not Brooklyn, no. I mean your real home." The man said, pulling out a red notebook with a black star on it. He started to re-site the tall tail magic words as the Soldat started to get angrier.

"Stop." Soldat ordered before the man continued, him letting out a scream. He ripped out of the metal holdings before slamming his fist on the glass. HIs eyes locked with mine as he smashed through the door, standing upright.

"Soldat?" The man asked which the Soldat replied too. "Mission report. December 16, 1991."

Laying low in the corner by a desk, I watched as two men entered the room. They checked a body before moving into the room where the handler was. Hearing grunting before Soldat and the blonde man moved back into the room. Once they passed me, I looked into the room as the handler walked out. Seeing the black man slowly getting up, he looked up at me.

"Thank god, Grace." He said and I cocked my head, confused. Who is Grace? He got up and walked closer to me. When he got close enough, I swung at him which he ducked. "Grace?"

I kicked him in the chest, sending him back before advancing on him. "Okay, definitely not Grace."

He swung his fist which I ducked under, punching him in his stomach. He avoided my fist to his face as he tried to kick my knee out from under me. Grabbing the fist he was swinging, he stared into my dead eyes as I slowly smirked at him. His eyes widened before I jabbed his stomach then his face before giving him a hard kick to the chest; knocking him back into the box.

Once he didn't move, I walked out of the room and out into a large room as I saw the Soldat fighting with an older man. Soldat punched him on the hip, the man falling back into some tables in front of me. The man glanced up as I moved closer to him.

"Grace, a little help would be appreciated." He said, holding up a hand that was covered with some type of metal. 

“Кто такая Грейс?” I spoke and it caused his eyes to widen. He quickly got up before I could grab him, him moving back as he kept his hands ready.

"Come on, Grae. I know you're in there. Stop playing hide and seek." He said. I frowned at what he was saying before charging him.

He braced himself as I side swept him. He stepped back a few steps from the impact before catching my fist in his other hand. Uncurling my hand, I grasped his wrist before twirling under his arm. Locking his wrist behind his back, I kicked him forward as he tumbled. I ran at him and stepped up on his hip as he turned and wrapped my legs around his neck. 

"Grace, no." He said, grasping my shirt. Smirking down at him, I jerked myself around. He landed with a grunt on the ground a few feet away as I landed perfectly on my feet. Walking towards him, I suddenly stopped. 

_"Red, helicopter. Soldat will take down guards along the way. You get to the helicopter, no matter what."_

Turning, I ran from the main room and managed to find the stairs to the roof. Running up them, I shoved through the door and saw it. Moving up a few steps, I climbed into the helicopter as the Soldat came walking up. He disconnected the cables before climbing in himself. He closed the door, locking it as I flipped a few switches to get it started as the door to the roof opened again. 

“Блондин вернулся за большим, Солдат.” I spoke to him as he glanced out the window.

“Он не выживет, Красный” Soldat responded. And just as he did, the man jumped up, grabbing ahold of the helicopter. The man pulled the chopper down as Soldat tried to lift us off more.

The man grabbed a hold of the building stopping us from taking off. That was before I reached over and jerked the handle to the right, causing the chopper to hit the building. It spun as I slammed into the seat before it stopped. Glancing up, I saw the blonde man before Soldat punched through the glass, grabbing his throat. Then the chopper started to tip back before falling into the river below. My body slammed forward, my head hitting the window as the chopper hit the water.


	8. The Elite

My head was pounding. Like someone had it with a dump truck. Moving my fingers, I could feel something around my wrists, it was rubbing against my skin. Slowly opening my eyes, I saw that it was rope. Thick rope.

My eyes flickered around the room to see that we were in some type of warehouse with Bucky next to me. His metal arm was trapped by a machine, holding it down. Hearing footsteps, I glanced up and saw Sam standing in the entryway. "Sam?"

"Is that really you or is it the other you?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. 

I frowned at his question. The other me? Then I remembered what had happened. I was activated and in doing so, hurt Sam and Tony in the process. "I'm me."

"Really?" Steve came strutting into the room. "Cause the last time I checked, you tried to slice me in half with a helicopter.

I licked my lips as I tried to think of something that he and I would know. "Remember when you got me shoot?" I paused as a smile appeared on my face. "You weren't used to your shield and you dropped it during a mission, getting me shot in the leg."

Steve glanced at Sam and nodded, causing Sam to speak. "Really? And that makes everything alright?"

"She's the only one besides him who are still alive to even know that. She's good." Steve answered before I heard the sound of a chopper. He left the room while Sam moved over to me, kneeling down. 

He lifted up my hands off my lap and started to pull at the rope. "It was weird, seeing you like that. It was like you weren't there, like you were dead inside."

"It does feel like you're dead inside. You don't feel anything, you don't care about anything but the mission. The only thing I guess the soldier part of me cares about besides missions was the Soldat." I admitted causing him to frown in confusion. "The Winter Soldier."

He made an 'ahh' face before finally releasing me from my binds. Pulling me to my feet, I glanced at Bucky and saw that there was blood on his forehead. Reaching up, I felt dried blood at my temple where my head hit the window of the chopper. Hearing him groan, I watched as his eyes opened before noticing his arm in the holder.

"Hey, Cap!" Sam yelled for him across the warehouse. Bucky groans again before glancing up, seeing me standing next to Sam, watching him.

"Grace." He whispered, grabbing onto the machine. Steve appeared beside me as he observed Bucky. "Steve."

"Which Bucky am I talking to?" Steve questioned him.

"Your mom's name was Sarah." He paused before a small smile appeared on his lips. "You used to wear newspaper in your shoes."

"Can't read that in a museum." I mumbled as Sam turned his head towards me. 

"Just like that, we're supposed to be cool?" Sam complained again. 

"What did I do?" Bucky asked, his eyes turning back to me for the answer. 

"We did enough." I told him and he frowned at the answer.

"Oh, god, I knew this would happen. Everything Hydra put inside us is still there. All he had to do was say the goddamn words." Bucky stated as he touched his forehead.

"Who was he?" Steve questioned, his eyes flickering to me as I shrugged.

"I don't know." Bucky replied.

"People are dead. The bombing, the setup, the doctor did all that just to get ten minutes with you. Both of you." Steve stated, turning to me as well. "I need both of you to do better than 'I don't know'."

"He wanted to know about Siberia." I said, remembering what he had asked. "Where he was kept. He wanted to know exactly where it was."

"Why would he need to know that?" Steve continued. I turned away from Steve back to Bucky. I certainly wasn't going to tell him because it wasn't really my kill mission.

Bucky took the hint before his jaw tightened. "Because I'm not the only Winter Soldier." He went on to explain the mission on December 16, 1991. The day of Howard and Maria Stark assassinations and why it had happened. 

"Who are they?" Steve asked as Bucky finished explaining. 

"Their most elite death squad. More kills than anyone in Hydra history. And that was before the serum." I said, leaning back against Bucky's leg. His arm hung over my shoulder as Steve and Sam watched us.

"They all turn out like you two?" Sam asked.

"Worse." Bucky answered. 

"The doctor, could he control them?" Steve questioned. 

Bucky's hand tightened around my shirt as he thought about it. "Enough."

"He said he wanted to see an empire fall." Steve stated to Sam. 

I licked my lips before speaking. "With these guys, he could do it. They speak thirty languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize. They can take a whole country down in one night, you'd never see them coming."

Sam moved over to Steve and stood in front of him. "This would have been a lot of easier a week ago."

Bucky drew my attention away from them by grabbing a piece of my hair, pulling my head back so I could look at him. He smoothed it away from the cut there before rubbing his thumb over the scrap on my cheek. He let out a sigh as he leaned his head down, his lips coming close to my ear. "Guess no more alone time."

"Yeah, guess not."


	9. The Bad Blood

Being smushed in the backseat was no fun but with Bucky, it made it a little better. I had my feet up in his lap cause Steve needed all the room he could get with his long legs in his small ass car. I watched as Bucky played with my shoe laces, while Steve exited the vehicle to meet up with Sharon, Peggy's niece.

"Not sure you understand the concept of a getaway car." She said long enough for us all to hear. I snickered slightly as Bucky moved his arm over the back of the seat. He was extremely uncomfortable as Sam wouldn't move his seat up.

"It's low profile." Steve replied back.

"Can you move your step up?" Bucky asked Sam again, shifting slightly.

"No." Sam bluntly replied. Bucky turned his head to give me a look, but I shook my head. Sam was as stubborn as a mull, me is not going to help the situation. I reached up and rubbed his metal arm before he moved it away from my hand.

Still ashamed about it as I was still ashamed about not saving it.

Bucky shifted a little closer to me, moving my legs completely over his as his hip hit my bottom. Moving my hand away from the back seat, I touched his jaw. The stumble on it scratched against my finger but I liked it. Then he suddenly smiled but wasn't looking at me but out the window. I didn't want to know what Steve did to Sharon.

Driving to the airport was even more fun. Sam kept reaching up and messing with my shoes as they were laying against the window. Kicking his hand away as Steve pulled into a spot by a van, them two got out before Sam reached back to help me out; Bucky giving me a little boost over him.

Clint and Wanda got out of the van as he addressed Steve. Steve held out his hand as Sam moved around the car as Bucky got out. "You know I wouldn't have called if I had any other choice."

"Hey, man, you're doing me a favor. Besides, I owe a debt." Clint said, glancing back at Wanda.

"Thanks for having my back." Steve told her. 

"It was time to get off my ass." She stated, leaning back to glance at Bucky and I. I was leaning against the car with Bucky leaning against me, his arm up on the hood.

"How about our other recruit?" I asked, drawing Clint's attention.

"He's rarin' to go. Had to put a little coffee in him but he should be good." Clint said, shoving open the van's sliding door to reveal a man.

"What time zone is this?" Scott Lang asked as he got out. He walked forward to stick out his hand. "Captain America."

"Mr. Lang."

"It's an honor. I'm shaking your hand too long. Wow, this is awesome. Captain." He turned towards Wanda next. "I know you too. You're great." 

A smile appeared on my face as one appeared on Wanda. She really needed that, even if she wouldn't admit to it. 

Scott suddenly grabbed Steve's biceps and I let out a small laugh. "Jeez. Ah, look, I wanna say, I know you know a lot of super people so thanks for think of me. Hey, man."

"What's up, Tic Tac?" Sam greeted him.

"Uh, good to see you. Look, what happened last time when I..."

"It was a great audition but it'll never happen again." Sam quickly interrupted him.

"They tell you what we're up against?" Steve asked as I felt Bucky shift behind me. His foot knocked into mine and I bumped it back.

"Something about some psycho-assassins?" Scott asked.

"We're outside the law on this one. So, if you come with us, you're a wanted man." Steve reminded him of the consequences.

"Yeah, well, what else is new?" Scott replied. 

"We should get moving." Bucky spoke, his chest rumbling on my back. 

"We got a chopper lined up." Clint said just as an alarm blared. A man speaking over the PA caught my attention as everyone else looked around confused as to what they were saying.

"They're evacuating the airport." Bucky told them. Bucky moved his arm off the car, turning me towards him. He touched my cheek; an expression crossed his face before he spoke again. "If anything happens, don't wait for me."

"I've waited for seventy years, I could wait a little longer."

* * *

From my position from one of the trucks, I watched as half our team confronted Steve. Even Stark was a little busy, adding the Spider-Boy to the mix before Sam's voice filled the comm. "We found it. Their Quinjet's in hanger five, north runway."

Steve held up his hands and Clint shot an arrow, cutting the webs from Steve's hands. "Alright, Lang."

Then Lang went back to normal size on top of the shield that the boy was holding, kicking him back, grabbing the shield as he did so. He handed it back to Steve as Steve took it back. Seeing both Rhodey and Tony take off, I decided to run towards the hanger where the Quinjet was as Clint and Wanda tried to do the same.

Then things exploded about twenty feet away from me causing me to stop to protect my head. Glancing up, I saw Tony flying down closer to us. "Not playing hide and seek anymore, Grace?" He commented as I glared at him before he turned to Wanda. "Wanda, I think you hurt Vision's feelings."

"You locked me in my room." She hissed at him.

"Okay, first, that's an exaggeration. Second, I did it to protect you." Tony said. Oh no, no, no. Wanda cocked her head as she glanced at me. "Hey Clint. Clearly retirement doesn't suit you. You got tired of shooting golf?"

"Well, I played eighteen, shot eighteen. Just can't seem to miss." Clint raised his arm and shot three arrows at him, which Tony ducked out of the way.

"First time for everything." Tony said, smugly.

"Made you look." Was all Clint said. Glancing up, Wanda had started to pull cars from the car garage, throwing them down on Tony. He tried to block them before getting crushed underneath them.

Grabbing her hand, I led her away. With CLint running with us as we rounded a few boxes of freight, Clint spoke. "There's our ride." Before both Steve and Scott joined us.

"Come on!" Steve urged as Bucky and Sam ended up beside me. We slowed to a stop as Vision burned a line into the ground in front of us. 

"Captain Rogers...I know you believe what you're doing is right. But for the collective good...you must surrender now." Then Rhodey flew in with T'Challa dropping down to the ground with Spider-Boy following.

"What do we do, Cap?" Sam asked.

"We fight." Was all he said.

We started to walk towards them and they started to follow. Then we picked up speed before Tony and Rhodey flew up. The Spider-Boy webbed me back as I swung as Wanda started to throw things at him.

I ripped off the webbing before throwing a knife at him. It cut through his web that he swinging on and he fell to the ground. Grabbing him by his mask, he webbed my fae. Jerking back to rip it off, I heard him flying up before I was kicked back. Sliding on my back, I somehow managed to get the webbing off my face as my arm was grabbed. Steve pulled me to my feet before throwing the shield at the boy. 

The shield cut the web and he fell but landing on a loading bar. Steve caught his shield as the boy spoke. "That thing does not obey the laws of physics at all."

"Look, kid, there's a lot going on here that you don't understand." Steve started to tell him.

"Mr. Stark said you'd say that. Wow." He shot a web at Steve's shield as he shot one at me, attaching it to my feet, planting me to the ground. God, I really hate this fucking webbing. He shot a string at Steve before jerking him to him, kicking Steve against a vent. 

Slicing through the webbing, the kid jumped near me and I turned, kicking him back. He rolled away under a wide trailer, kneeling. "He also said to go for your legs."

Steve got up and went for the shield but the boy caught his hand in a web before doing the same to the other. Steve jerked around before flipping in the air, throwing the boy in the opposite direction.

Stepping down on Steve's shield, I grabbed it as it was coming up. A web attached itself to the shield and I ripped it off, wrapping it around my hand. Jerking him towards me, I smashed his face with the shield. He quickly got up and flew up on the detachable hallway as I spoke. "Stark tell you anything else?"

"That you're wrong. You think you're right. That makes you both dangerous. Especially you." He said the last part directly at me. He flipped backwards and flew towards us, shooting a web. Steve flipped and kicked him back, him hitting a wheel before landing on the ground. 

"Guess he had a point." Steve muttered to me before hitting the holding bars of the extra hallway, it falls down as the kid lifted up his arms, holding it up and off him. "You got hear, kid. Where you from?"

"Queens." The boy grunted, trying to keep the thing lifted off him.

Steve smiled before speaking, "Brooklyn."

"Everyone knows that." I muttered as we ran from the boy. We hid behind a trailer as Bucky ended up on the other side of us. 

"We gotta go. That guy's probably in Siberia by now." Bucky said as he glanced from Steve to me. 

"We gotta draw out the flyers." Steve said. "I'll take Vision, you two get to the jet."

"No, you get to the jet." Sam interrupted. "All three of you. The rest of us aren't getting out of here."

"As much as I hate to admit it if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it." Clint also responded.

"This isn't the real fight, Steve." Sam stated.

"Alright, Sam. What's the play?" Steve said, giving in. Bucky's eyes were still trained on me as I glanced around Steve to look at him.

"We need a diversion. Something big." Sam replied. 

"I got something kind of big. But I can't hold it very long. On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half... don't come back for me." Lang said through his comm.

"He's gonna tear himself in half?" Bucky asked and I shrugged. Who knows anymore?

"You sure about this, Scott?" I asked.

"I do it all the time. I mean, once. In a lab. Then I passed out." Scott said before muttering something else that my ear didn't catch. I heard something behind us and I stepped out with Steve and Bucky to see that Scott was now big. Very big.

"I guess that's the signal." Steve said.

He grabbed my hand and started to pull me along as we started to run towards the hanger where the Quinjet was as I heard Scott speaking again. "Wanna get to them? You gotta go through me."

With them being men, they ran a little more ahead of me but Bucky kept glancing back to make sure I was still with them. Hearing gun fire behind me, I didn't want to look back. We were getting closer to the hanger before I heard the tower starting to come down. Then it was held up with a red shield. Why, thank you, Wanda. Now just hold it. 

I tried to speed up before I was suddenly knocked off my feet. I flew to the right as the tower went down, Steve and Bucky making it before the rumble hit the ground. I landed hard on my side, my face bouncing off the ground.

My vision blurred as my head started to throb. Placing my hands on the ground, I glanced up as I saw the Quinjet taking off. They made it. That's all that matters. Hearing a blaster gearing up, I turned to sit on my bottom. Tony stared at me as he held out his hand, the blaster focused on me. 

"Seems like they left you." He commented.

My eyebrow cocked up as I felt blood from my nose spilling into my mouth. I glanced up at him and smiled, knowing my blood was covering my teeth. "Yeah, they did but at least they got away."


	10. The Shackles

Leaning against the wall of the tiny box they call a prison cell; I heard the door open to the main room. Glancing up from my shackled wrists, I saw Tony walking into the room while someone clapped. He watched me since I was front and center as you walked in, staring at me then at my shackled wrists. 

The shackles were a permanent resident, they had said. Never coming off. 

"The Futurist, gentlemen. The Futurist is here. He sees all. He knows what's best for you, whether you like it or not." Clint joked causing Tony to turn and walk towards him. 

"Give me a break, Barton. I had no idea they'd put you here. Come on." Tony stated. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, you say that, Tony but I guess you haven't seen Wanda. My shackles were nothing to me but her, inhumane. Them treating her like some pyscho, straight jacket and everything. Even has a collar around her delicate neck, which shocks her if and when she tries to use her gift. Making her more afraid of herself than anything.

"Yeah, well, you knew they'd put us somewhere, Tony." Clint responded. 

"Yeah, but not some super-max floating ocean pokey. This place is for maniacs. This is a place for..." Tony trailed off. For someone as dangerous as me, isn't that what you told the Spider-boy?

"Criminals? Criminals, Tony. Think that's the word you're looking for. Right? That didn't used to mean me. Or Sam, or Wanda, not even Grace. But here we are." Clint shot back.

"Because you broke the law. I didn't make you. You read it, you broke it. You're all grown up, you got a wife and kids. I don't understand why didn't you think about them before you chose the wrong side?" Tony questioned him.

"You gotta watch your back with this guy." Clint said, slamming his hands on the glass. "There's a chance he's gonna break it."

"Hank Pym always said you never can trust a Stark." Lang said as Tony went to pass by him.

"Who are you?" Tony asked before moving on to Sam who was next to me.

"How's Rhodes?" Sam asked.

"They're flying him to Columbia Medical tomorrow so...fingers crossed. What do you need? They feed you yet?" Tony asked, suddenly now worried about us.

"You're the good cop, now?" Sam replied. I rolled one of my rings around, which they actually let me keep on, knowing he was going to come to me next after Sam. 

"I'm just the guy who needs to know where Steve went." Tony continued.

"Well, you better go get a bad cop because you're gonna have to Mark Fuhrman on my ass to get information out of me." Sam stated. Tony sighed before moving onto me. I glared at him, still in my spot against the wall. 

"Grace, I never thought..." He paused as he stared down at the shackles that were on a bit to tight, that were cutting into my skin. Never thought what, Tony?

“Иди к черту, Старк.” I quickly shot off in Russian. He frowned, confused. 

"I don't know what language that was. I need to know where Steve went. In English this time." Tony pleaded. Slowly getting up, which was hard with the tight shackles, I walked to the glass. 

“Я все еще буду здесь, когда ты их найдешь, зачем мне?” I spoke again in Russian. Him still confused with the language barrier and it was amusing to watch. He sighed before pressing down on something on his watch. 

"Well, I just knocked out the A out of their AV. We got about thirty seconds before they realize it's not their equipment. Just look. " He pulled up a picture of a man on the screen. "Because this is the fellow who was supposed to interrogate you and Barnes. Clearly, I made a mistake. Grace, I was wrong."

He actually looked sincere, which is a weird look on him. "That's a first." I stated. He sighed in relief that I was finally using English again.

"Cap is definitely off the reservation but he's about to need all the help he can get. Please, Grace." He pleaded once again. I went to move my hand to press against the glass before the shackles rattled, reminding me of them. "I'll get them to get those off."

"Like that'll happen." I paused before sighing. "I'll tell you but you have to go alone and as a friend.

"Easy."

"It's a small town in Siberia called..."


	11. The Torture Of One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter does contain torture so if you would like to skip it, you can.

Laying on the bed they had put in the room, I stared at the ceiling counting the number of panels it had. I did this over and over, feeling like I was losing my mind. Thumping my thumbs on my chest, the door to the main room suddenly opened. Ignoring it until the door to my cell opened, I jerked up as the guards filled my room.

"Stand up." A guard ordered, holding a gun in his hand. Slowly standing, I kept my free hands still as they grabbed them. They jerked me around and cuffed my hands behind my back before grabbing my upper arm and yanking me out of the cell.

"Where you taking her?" Sam ordered as they started to lead me out.

"Hey, where you takin her!?" Clint yelled, pounding a fist on the door with Sam doing the same. 

They ushered me out of the room and down multiple hallways and into a room with a chair. They shoved me down into it before unhooking the cuffs before putting metal ones from the chair over my wrists. They locked another metal bar around my waist before stepping back and walking out of the room. 

I leaned my head back against the headrest as I heard the door reopen. My fingered flecked as Secretary Ross' voice reached my ears. "Hell, Ms. Donovan. Lovely day, isn't it?"

"I wouldn't know, would I?" I asked, sarcastically as he came around the chair to face me. 

"Yes, you wouldn't." He sighed before turning. He picked up something off the desk that was in the corner before turning back to me. Letting me see that it was a file that barely had anything in it. "You're probably wondering why you're in here?"

"Not really, not the worst chair I've been in." I joked, cocking an eyebrow. He let out a hum before holding up the folder.

"Do you know what this is?"

"No, but I know you'll enlighten me." I stated. 

"It's your Hydra files." My eyebrow cocked more as he said that. "Not much in it except the usual physicals."

"Bet you had fun time reading it...since it's so small." I joked again and his jaw tightened. 

He slammed the folder back down on the table before turning back to me. "Tony made have gotten the shackles off but that doesn't mean you aren't an international criminal. You're gonna tell us everything. Every detail, down to the scent."

"Oh really? How are you planning on doing that? You going to starve me? Dehydrate me? Cause me to hallucinate? Sorry about your luck, that doesn't phase me. I can take whatever you throw at me." I urged him on. 

His eyebrows shot up before a smirk appeared on his face. He pulled something out of pocket and show it to me. A remote. "Final chance, Ms. Donovan."

"Like I said, nothi-," I was cut off as an electric current ran through my body. My voice came out as a loud scream as my body shook from the waves. My head slammed back onto the headrest as the currents stopped. 

"You were saying?" Ross asked, holding his thumb over the remote. I gasped for breath as he moved closer. "You will tell me everything or it's going to be a hell of a ride for you."

"Go.....to......hell." I hissed out, gasping for air.

The door opened again from behind me and he looked up. "Wrong choice. Get it out of her, anyway you have too."

* * *

My body shook as my breath came out in a fog. I clenched my fists as the room got more colder, another gust of air coming out of the duct in front of me. Unclenching my hands, I flecked my fingers as they started to come stiff. Leaning my head back against the headrest, I licked my lips as the sound of another gust of air came out of the duck. 

The door behind me opened and Ross walked in front of me. "It's a little cold in here, Grace. What do you think?"

"Just peachy." I hissed out as I glared at him. He smirked before glancing up.

"She says just peachy. John, take off her overshirt and let's see what she says after a while." Ross said before John appeared next to me, a knife in hand. He cut the sleeve of my shirt and ripped it up to my shoulder. He did the same to the other sleeve before cutting down the middle of the shirt. He ripped the overshirt off, just leaving me in the white tank top they had given me when I got here. "There, isn't that better? I give her another hour before she cracks."

My teeth cracked against each other as I noticed my fingers were turning a deep red. It was getting harder to clench them as they became numb. Closing my eyes, I clenched my jaw before my ears perked up, catching a sound.

It started off soft and it was slowly increasing in loudness. Then it was an ear piercing screeching. And it didn't stop. My eyes shot open as I started to bang my head back against the headrest. I managed to catch the edge of it on one swing before I was out like a light.

A punch had me jerking awake and I went to punch back before I remembered my hands were bound. John stood in front of me, brushing off his knuckles. "Good thinking on knocking yourself out. We didn't think you would last as long as you did." 

Clenching my fists, I finally realized that the room was warm again. "Guess you underestimated me."

He laughed and nodded. "Yeah, we did. Didn't know you would hold out for that long. Ross thought of another route to get you to talk."

"And what's that?" I asked. 

Without answering me, he reached into his pocket then I felt the electric current start up again. My teeth clenched as I kept in a scream as my hands snapped over the arms of the chair. Then they were gone. 

"That's what." He said before leaning down towards me. "Now, how about we play?"

Blood ran down from my mouth as my body kept twitching. It still felt like they had the electric currents still going even though I saw John press the button to make it stop. Another punch to the stomach had me gasping, leaning over to try and protect it. That only got me a punch to the face.

"Come on, Grace," John said as he walked over to the desk. "We've been at this for days. Sooner or later, you're body is gonna give up. Then your brain and then your heart. So why don't you just give it up?"

More blood dripped down from my nose as I could feel the bruises that were littered around my body but never once did I utter a word. Watching as he walked over, he reached down and grabbed one of my fingers on my right hand. Then he twisted. 

I let out a scream as I felt the joint in that finger get ripped out of its socket and nudging against the skin. The man let go and i saw that my middle finger was not bent at an angle, the ring on that finger digging into the joint. He grabbed the same finger before snapping it back into place. My scream of agony echoed around the room. He just laughed, leaning a little closer. "Do you wanna know what I like about this room?"

I didn't answer and he pressed the button. My body jerked forward as the current went through my body, my mouth opening to let out a silent scream but the current went away. I was not gonna give up anything to him.

He leaned closer, pressing his lips to my still buzzing ears. "No one can hear you scream."

My body was gonna give out. I knew it was. I could feel blood dripping in my ears as more blood oozed out of my nose. I refocused and slammed my head forward, catching him on the nose. 

He cursed and walked backwards away from me, holding his nose. He glared at me before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the remote. He pressed the button then slammed it onto the ground, shattering it. He strut out of the room, leaving me to suffer in endless agony while he went to go fix his broken nose. Maybe my mind will be broken when he got back.

And I thought it already had. Hearing alarms blaring in my ear and the door opening again, I wished it would stop. Maybe it's time to give over something useless but that was before I heard his voice. 

"Grace?"


	12. The Choice of Hells

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Very short but will make up for it in upcoming chapters

"You're doing good, Ms. Grace. Just hold still for me a little while longer." Shuri, Wakanka's princess, said as she started to scan me but it went in one ear and out the other. The room was too white, I didn't like it.

Steve and Bucky's eyes were burning a hole into my skull as Shuri gently pulled me into a sitting position before pulling an image up from her bracelet. "Let's see. Broken finger, cracked wrist, broken eye socket with the other cracked. Four broken ribs with lacerations to kidneys and liver, all mild thankfully. Obvious bumps and bruises, along with bleeding in the ear canals from continuous electric current."

As she spoke, Bucky's face hardened as a glare set it. He reached up with his now only hand, since the other one got blown off, and went to touch the back of my head but I flinched away from it. He paused his hand before slowly laying it on my back. I tensed as he started to slowly rub it up and down. 

"What's the plan?" Steve asked, his eyes were full of guilt. Maybe he thought if he gotten there sooner, maybe this wouldn't have happened but it would have. Eventually.

"My best suggestion," She paused, glancing back at me. "Is for her to go back under with Sergeant Barnes. To give her an easier time to heal and with her mind just like his, I could try and find a way to remove the programming in their brains while she heals, now if possible. We already have hers ready, Barnes' in just a few minutes. That is my best opinion. Is that okay, Ms. Grace?"

I slowly nodded. Bucky reached up slowly so I could see what he was doing and pulled a piece of hair back as it had fallen into my face. "Doll...you don't have too. I know what going back under does to you.....and when you wake up."

Out of the corner of my eye, Shuri moved back so Steve could stand closer to me as I lifted my head. Glancing between the three of them, I spoke for the first time in a while....

"I rather be in that hell than this one. At least it won't hurt." 


End file.
